Charlie Weasley: Dragon Tamer at Work
by rnkas
Summary: Charlie Weasley, a new Hogwarts graduate, applies to a Romanian dragon center. When accepted, Charlie's adventures begin, including a nasty encounter with a Horntail, an unsatisfied Chinese Fireball and even a few Death Eaters.
1. Welcome to Romania

"Not bad, not bad at all," muttered Charlie Weasley, as he looked carefully at his N.E.W.T. results. Beside him was a job pamphlet on dragons. They required an N.E.W.T in potions, defense against the dark art, care of magical creatures and herbology. Charlie, an over-achiever, had gotten all that and an N.E.W.T in charms and transfiguration. Each class that was passed could get up to two N.E.W.T. s. That meant that Charlie had tweleve N.E.W.T. s.

It had always been Charlie's dream to work with dragons, and they certainly were beautiful things. An hour later, he was found at his desk, scribbling a letter to Romania. His younger brother, Ron came in, asking what he was doing.

"I'm applying for a job with dragons," he answered,

"Are you going to leave home?" Ron asked, fearfully.

"Yes, and you will too, someday."

"What if I don't want to?"

"You'll be forced to leave, anyway."

"Why?"

"Because you'll be a grown-up, and you'll be independent."

"Oh, nice talking to you, Charlie."

"See you, Ron."

He sent a letter via his family owl, Errol. Hoping for a quick response, eighteen-year-old Charlie went downstairs for a lunch of turkey sandwiches. His mother, Molly Weasley, was muttering to herself, while pacing the kitchen. She did that a lot.

"Hey, Mum," smiled Charlie.

"Charlie, have you received your results?"

"Just this morning. I have tweleve N.E.W.T. s. The dragon place in Romania only requires eight."

"That's funny," claimed his other brother, Percy, as he entered the room, "Healing requires tweleve."

"Ha, ha, ha. Luckily, I'm not becoming a healer," Charlie retorted. Charlie was the second-oldest. Bill was older than him, and Percy was younger. Following Percy were the twins, Fred and George, and Ron, and Ginny, the only girl.

"Charlie, I'm not so sure that you'll get in. Many people try, and tweleve N.E.W.T. s is only tweleve," said Mrs. Weasley, worriedly.

"But Mum, those people wouldn't want to be a dragon tamer, they'd try to be in the ministry, or something."

"If you're sure."

"Is it time for lunch?"

"Yes, it is. Will you call everyone down?"

"Sure, Mum. Time for lunch!" he called. It sounded like a herd of elephants, as Fred and George tried to push in front of the eldest, Bill. Bill had come to visit from Egypt, where he worked with goblins in banks. He was twenty.

A week later, when Charlie was outside playing Quittitch with Bill and Fred against Ron, George and Percy, there was a ring at the doorbell. Two old wizards stepped inside, in search for Charlie.

"He's out back. Should I get him for you?" he heard his mother say.

"No thank you, we can find him ourselves," answered a rough, old man's voice. The two cloaked figures strolled around back to where the six boys were playing Quittitch, using an apple as a quaffle, seeing as two weeks earlier, George had thrown it so hard that it flew through the hoop, and into the neighbor's yard, where a bulldog promptly ate it.

"Do you know where Charlie Weasley is?" asked the first wizard.

"I am Charlie Weasley," answered Charlie, a little confused.

"Your application to the Romanian Dragon Center has been accepted. Congratulations, Mr. Weasley," announced the second one, regally. Charlie's mouth was wide open in shock.

"Really?"

"Yes, sir. You may come with us to Romania as soon as you say your good-byes." By then, the others had touched down, and were listening to this conversation with mild interest.

"I'll get Mum and Ginny," suggested Fred, running off towards the house. A few seconds later, Fred returned, leading two startled people, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.

"What's going on, Charlie? Fred says that you're leaving for Romania," asked Ginny, a nine-year-old.

"They've accepted my application to the Romanian Dragon Center."

"So, you're going to leave?" she asked.

"Yes, but I'll come back during breaks and such."

"I'll miss you, big bro."

"I'll miss you, too, little sis. See you around, all of you guys. Bye, bye."

"Bye, Charlie." called Ron.

"Bye, dragon lover!" laughed Fred and George in unison.

"Bye, sweetie." Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Bye, big bro!" Ginny yelled.

"Bye little bro!" called Bill.

"See you soon, Charlie!" shouted Percy.

The two wizards nodded, grabbed each of Charlie's hands, and apparated to Romania, where the Dragon Center was. Noise erupted in Charlie's ears. Shouts and cries echoed around the buildings.

A man around Charlie's own age rushed up to greet them. His sand-colored, short hair sat neatly around his ears, giving him the appearance of someone important.

"Hello, Charlie Weasley. My name is Thomas Bartholomew, but you can call me Tom. I was given the job of ghanding out leaflets, schedules and advice too newcomers. It's nice to meet you, Charlie."

"Nice to meet you, too," answered Charlie.

"Well, I doubt that you'll want to stand here all day, so please follow me." Charlie did as he was told, as Tom led him to a busy building, with boys streaming in and out of it.

"Wow."

"Charlie, this is where you'll be staying. I hope you like it. Here are your papers. Your room number is 279." Tom left at a run, leaving Charlie to figure his own way around.


	2. Climb Aboard Magnum

Notes: Here it is: my second chapter. I hope it has a little more action that the first.

Charlie looked around for a while. He was on the first floor, so he hurried up a flight of stairs to find his room. Once he wandered aimlessly around for a bit, he found room 279, and went in, to find a couple other boys talking and reading out loud. They turned around when he came in.

"Hi, I'm Charlie Weasley," Charlie began, nervously. He wasn't usually nervous, but he was far away from places that he knew.

"I'm Dan Smith. Are you new here?" one of them asked. Dan sat on one of the three beds. His bed was closest to the window. Dan had black hair, and brown eyes.

"Yeah," Charlie answered.

"We are too. We got accepted this morning, and came right over. Work starts tomorrow," answered the other, "I'm Jeff Connally." Jeff had brown hair, hazel eyes and glasses.

Charlie sat down on the last remaining bed, just when someone knocked on the door. Charlie got up, and found Tom standing in the doorway.

"Here are some information packets for you. Those papers that I gave to you before just have the boring old rules. They have your mentors, schedules and maps," Tom said in a monotone. Tom left, leaving Charlie to hand out the packets. He gave one to Jeff and one to Dan, and opened the envelope. Multiple sheets were inside the packet.

_Dear Mr. Weasley,_

_It is our pleasure to welcome you to the Romanian Dragon Center. Enclosed are information leaflets, maps of the school grounds and other necessary information. We are delighted to have you here, as a student. Keep in mind, please, that we do hire workers, and you may be a worker here while remaining a student, after two months._

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Kambolini_

_Mr. Kambolini_

The letter continued, telling him that his mentor was Christine Lynn, in room 372, and for him to please visit her as soon as possible. With a quick look at the map, he found out that the building that he was in had rooms 1-299, all boys' rooms. The girls' rooms, 300-499, were in a separate building.

"See you guys, I gotta go meet my mentor," Charlie said to Jeff and Dan. Charlie left, and hurried outside. The other building was next to the building that Charlie had just come out of.

He walked in, quickly. He searched around for room 372, and knocked on the door. A girl answered it.

"Hi, I'm looking for Christine Lynn," Charlie said, nervously.

"Why?" The girl seemed obnoxious and rude.

"She's my mentor," Charlie replied.

"Christine!" A girl sitting on her bed got up. The two looked nearly identical.

"What is it, Leah Lynn?" she said, angrily.

"He says that you're his mentor," Leah replied, coldly, and went to the back of the room.

"Well, Charlie, follow me," Christine said. She led him outside, and to what looked like a large barn. "I'm sorry about Leah. She's my evil twin."

Christine led Charlie into the barn, where Charlie gasped at the sight. Dragons of all shapes, sizes and colors were in stalls.

"Here, I'll introduce you to Magnum, the oldest. Magnum's a Hebridean Black. She's probably the most well-trained dragon here. Maybe she'll even let you ride her." Charlie stared at Christine like she was insane.

Christine grinned at his astounded look, and lifted Magnum's saddle from the rack. The leather saddle was simple, and didn't look any different that a horse-back riding saddle, except for the size.

Christine opened the stall door, and led Magnum out by her collar. Magnum was huge, around 27 feet long, had bat-like wings, purple eyes, an arrow-tipped tail and sharp, small ridges on her back. She nuzzled Charlie, who was frozen with fear.

"Well, come on, Charlie. Hop on her back," Christine laughed, after attaching the saddle. "Magnum will respond to voice commands like slow, fast, up down, left, right and home. Slow and fast will adjust your speed. Up and down will adjust your height. Left and right will change your direction and home will take you back here. Try to be back in around ten minutes. Circle the school grounds, and then come on back." Christine helped him get on the huge creature.

"Fast," he whispered. Magnum ran out of the stable, and took off into the sky. Charlie held on around her neck, holding on for his life. As Magnum flew higher and higher, Charlie began to get more and more confident, until he looked down. As soon as he looked down, he whispered 'Home' to Magnum, and Magnum turned around, and landed in the stable, where Christine was happily clapping away.

"You were awesome, Charlie! I've never seen someone who rides a dragon so confidently. The first time I rode a dragon, I fell off." Charlie stared at her. Christine laughed again.

"Don't worry about it. Here, I'll take you back to your room," she suggested, grinning. Charlie followed Christine back to the buildings with the rooms, after putting Magnum back into her stall.

"See you, Charlie," she said, still smiling.

"See you, Christine." He was back before Dan and Jeff, so he decided to read up on dragons, with the handbook that the center had given him.

_How to Ride a Dragon:_

_Riding dragons is restricted in most areas, except for schools and dragon centers. Saddles are required, because a dragon's spikes can be sharp. Older dragons tend to be more mellow and well-trained, so a beginner should ride an old dragon. Few people can ride dragons as soon as they are full-grown, because they tend to be so energetic._

Charlie Weasley fell asleep almost immediately after reading that paragraph. It was only five in the afternoon, but he was so tired after riding a dragon for the first time. It was incredible to Charlie. It was like having a childhood dream come true when you're a grown-up; it feels like a dream.

"Charlie, wake up," called a voice in Charlie's ear the next morning. Dan was standing over him, smiling.

"You fell asleep before dinner. What happened?" Jeff laughed.

"I rode a dragon, Magnum."

"Yeah, right," laughed Jeff, "Come on, and let's go down to breakfast."


	3. Dragon Chase

At breakfast, Christine hurried over to Charlie, who was arguing with Jeff and Dan, claiming that he really had flown a dragon.

"I'm telling you, guys, I rode Magnum," protested Charlie, "Christine, tell them that I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah, guys, he did. Magnum's the oldest dragon here, and newcomers often ride her," Christine agreed. She left, grinning.

"Well," said Dan, "Let's go to classes. Our first class is in room 607. You know how rooms 1-299 are in one building and 300-499 are in another? Well, 500-699 are in another building, filled with classrooms."

Charlie and Jeff followed Dan out of the dining hall, and into room 607. A tall, thin man was sitting at the desk in the front, placing his feet on top of the desk.

"Ah, you're here. Good, I can begin," he said. "I am Professor Horntail. As you might have figured out by now, every teacher is given a new last name, after a dragon."

"Can you tell us about Magnum?" Charlie asked Horntail.

"Certainly. Magnum is a very old dragon. Normally, dragons tend to live for hundreds of years, but Magnum is old, even for a Hebridean Black. Magnum is 732 years old, the oldest working dragon in the world. Anyone who is willing is allowed to ride her, as long as someone observes them, for safety reasons, of course.

"But, I am not here to teach you about the dragons. I am here to teach you the differences between certain types of dragons. Can anyone tell me the difference between a Common Welsh Green and a Hebridean Black?"

"Professor, a Hebridean Black is more aggressive than the Welsh Green. Also, Welsh Greens tend to eat sheep, while Hebridean Blacks tend to eat deer," Dan answered.

"Very good. A Welsh Green can be identified, how?" Charlie knew this. He'd written an essay on Common Welsh Greens in his sixth year.

"They can easily be identified by their melodious roar, sir," Charlie answered, simply.

"Good job. Now, how many pure-bred dragon types are there?" Dan raised his hand, again.

"Ten, sir," Dan said, quickly. The dragon theory lesson went on, until the bell sounded half and hour, later.

"For homework," called Professor Horntail, "One foot on Welsh Greens, and how to tell them from other types of dragons!" Charlie sighed, and followed Dan, once more, into the hallway to the next class.

"What's next, Dan?" asked Jeff.

"Dragon taming class," he answered, happily. Jeff and Charlie looked at each other, happy that they could actually tame dragons on their first day. Dan led them outside and to the barn where Magnum was. Seeing Charlie, Magnum snorted, while Charlie walked up to pat her nose.

"Great, I can see that you all made it," called a voice from the doorway. A female teacher was standing there, watching them. Charlie quickly moved away from Magnum. "My name is Professor Hebridean. Please choose a dragon to learn to know. Charlie wasn't quick enough to reach Magnum. They knew that she was easy, and so everyone raced to choose her. Charlie went to a dragon that nobody had requested. It was a Hungarian Horntail.

"Hey, big guy," Charlie crooned at the dragon, "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Charlie, why are you talking to a dragon?" Dan asked, hiding a grin. Charlie shrugged. He didn't know why, himself, but it was worth a try, right? Immediately, the Horntail began to get agitated.

He snapped his jaws together, ferociously, trying to bite Charlie. The Horntail kicked the door down in anger, and began to charge after Charlie. He could hear the dragon's hard breathing, and could feel the heavy dragon's footsteps vibrating through the ground. It was getting closer.

A burst of heat hit Charlie squarely in the back, knocking him over. The last thing he saw was the huge head of the mad Hungarian Horntail.


End file.
